The inside scoop on food in Los Angeles

A look at José Andrés' Bazaar at the SLS Hotel

September 24, 2008 | 2:06
pm

The Bazaar in the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills is set to open in November, so here's a rendering for an early look. The restaurant, overseen by Spanish chef José Andrés, is another Philippe Starck design.

Back in 2005, SBE Entertainment Group's chief executive, Sam Nazarian, signed a deal with Starck to design nine distinct restaurant and lounge concepts over six years. The first Katsuya sushi restaurant opened in Brentwood in 2006. Now we're on the brink of another Starck vision: XIV, the venue for chef Michael Mina, opens next month. For this one, Starck has conjured a European castle. Starck has said that he speaks to the "Smart Tribe" (his example of a member of the Smart Tribe was someone who could recognize a Picasso).

As far as the Bazaar, to hear Nazarian and Andrés tell it, the concept sounds as if it has been born of one big love fest. Andrés says that he and Nazarian "were meant for each other." And Nazarian says that Andrés and Starck were meant for each other too: "[Andrés] is the perfect match for the design vision of Philippe Starck."

From an article that ran when Nazarian and Starck penned another design deal for the hotels, Starck says: "To make a beautiful baby, the parents must be in love." Or at least have "synergies."